The capillaries that supply blood to the tissues of the brain constitute the blood brain barrier (Goldstein et al. (1986) Scientific American 255:74-83; Pardridge, W. M. (1986) Endocrin. Rev. 7:314-330). The endothelial cells which form the brain capillaries are different from those found in other tissues in the body. Brain capillary endothelial cells are joined together by tight intercellular junctions which form a continuous wall against the passive diffusion of molecules from the blood to the brain and other parts of the central nervous system (CNS). These cells are also different in that they have few pinocytic vesicles which in other tissues allow somewhat unselective transport across the capillary wall. Also lacking are continuous gaps or channels running between the cells which would allow unrestricted passage.
The blood-brain barrier functions to ensure that the environment of the brain is constantly controlled. The levels of various substances in the blood, such as hormones, amino acids and ions, undergo frequent small fluctuations which can be brought about by activities such as eating and exercise (Goldstein et al., cited supra). If the brain was not protected by the blood brain barrier from these variations in serum composition, the result could be uncontrolled neural activity.
The isolation of the brain from the bloodstream is not complete. If this were the case, the brain would be unable to function properly due to a lack of nutrients and because of the need to exchange chemicals with the rest of the body. The presence of specific transport systems within the capillary endothelial cells assures that the brain receives, in a controlled manner, all of the compounds required for normal growth and function. In many instances, these transport systems consist of membrane-associated proteins which selectively bind and certain molecules across the barrier membranes. These transporter proteins are known as solute carrier transporters.
The problem posed by the blood-brain barrier is that, in the process of protecting the brain, it excludes many potentially useful therapeutic agents. Presently, only substances which are sufficiently lipophilic can penetrate the blood-brain barrier (Goldstein et al., cited supra; Pardridge, W. M., cited supra). Some drugs can be modified to make them more lipophilic and thereby increase their ability to cross the blood brain barrier. However, each modification must be tested individually on each drug and the modification can alter the activity of the drug.
Because the blood brain barrier is composed of brain microvessel endothelial cells, these cells have been isolated and cultured for use in in vitro model systems for studying the blood brain barrier (Bowman et. al, Brain microvessel endothelial cells in tissue culture: A model for study of blood-brain barrier permeability, Ann. Neurol. 14, 396-402 (1983); Audus and Borchardt, Characterization of an in vitro blood-brain barrier model system for studying drug transport and metabolism, Pharm, Res. 3, 81-87 (1986)). In vitro model systems of the blood brain barrier have been successfully derived from bovine, canine, human, murine, porcine, and rat cells, and have similar permeability properties due to similarity of the physiological characteristics of the blood brain barrier among mammals (Cserr et al., Blood-brain interfaces in vertebrates: a comparative approach, Am. J. Physiol. 246, R277-R288 (1984); Audus et al., The use of cultured epithelial and endothelial cells for drug transport and metabolism studies, Pharm. Res. 7, 435-451 (1990)). In these models, the cultured endothelial cells retain the characteristics of brain endothelial cells in vivo, such as morphology, specific blood brain barrier enzyme markers, and tight intercellular junctions. The cells can also be used for the study of passive diffusion, carrier mediated transport, and metabolism to specific factors affecting the blood brain barrier permeability. However, passaging of brain microvessel endothelial cells results in loss of specific endothelial and blood brain barrier markers as well as tight intercellular junctions (Brightman and Neuwelt (ed.), Implications of the blood-brain barrier and its manipulation, Vol. 1, Plenum Medical, New York, pp. 53-83 (1989)).
Currently, primary cultures of brain microvessel endothelial cells are the principal tool for in vitro prediction of blood brain barrier permeability. Isolated and cultured primary brain cells developed previously have exhibited different properties primarily due to considerable variability in the starting material. For example, with respect to transcellular transport, rigorous comparison of data between different laboratories has been very difficult (Pardridge et al., Comparison of in vitro and in vivo models of drug transcytosis through the blood-brain barrier, J. Pharmacol. Exp. Thera. 253, 884-891 (1990); Masereeuw et al., In vitro and in vivo transport of zidovudine (AZT) across the blood-brain barrier and the effect of transport inhibitors. Pharm. Res., 11, 324-330 (1994)). Passaging primary cells can affect the differentiation of cells and lead to the selection of the most rapidly proliferating clones. Furthermore, the expression of some marker enzymes such as gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase as well as tight junctional complexity has been shown to decrease with time in culture and passage number (Meresse et. al., Bovine brain endothelial cells express tight junctions and monoamine oxidase activity in long-term culture, J. Neuorchem. 53, 1363-1371 (1989)). Some transporter substrates have been demonstrated to accumulate in the brain (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,489,302).
Thus, it is apparent that the presently available clones of immortalized brain microvessel endothelial cell cultures suffer from individual drawbacks in terms of phenotype expression and homogeneic maintenance of that expression. This leads to difficulties with respect to accuracy and reproducibility in studies utilizing brain microvessel endothelial cells to model passage of chemical compounds and moieties, e.g., potential therapeutic compounds and/or drug moieties, across the blood brain barrier.